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Biomedical subjects

P Agrawal

Publications and source records attributed to P Agrawal.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

Immunoglobulin profile in schizophrenia.

The present study was conducted on 40 new consecutive schizophrenic patients admitted in the psychiatry ward. The diagnosis of schizophrenia was done by Research Diagnosis Criteria (RDC). Serum immunoglobulins were were estimated in schizophrenic patients and were age and sex matched with 40 healthy individuals, comprising the control group. The IgG and IgA mean levels of schizophrenic patients were found to be significantly higher (p < 0.01) than the normal healthy individuals. There were however no significant differences between the schizophrenic patients and control group regarding total proteins, albumin and globulin levels. In subtypes of schinophrenia based on phenomenology only, paranoid group scored significantly higher (p < 0.01) IgG and IgA mean values than other types of Schizophrenia (catatonic, disorganised and undifferentiated).

Female

Valproic acid.

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Dosage Forms

Postpartum psychosis: a study of indoor cases in a general hospital psychiatric clinic.

In a prospective study, 144 consecutive indoor cases of puerperal psychosis were assessed. Their mean age was 24.6 years. A past and a family history of psychosis was present in 12 cases each. According to RDC criteria, a majority of the patients had unspecified functional psychosis. A majority of the cases developed psychosis after the birth of a first child. Puerperal psychosis showed a positive correlation with the birth of a female child. Most of these cases developed psychiatric illness in the first 2 weeks after delivery. When the prevalence of symptoms in the study group was compared with the age- and disease-matched nonpuerperal controls, several differences were statistically significant.

Adult

Immunoglobulin profile in acute psychiatric disorders.

In a prospective study of 80 new female patients with acute psychiatric disorders (40 each with schizophrenia and major affective disorder), elevated (P less than 0.001) serum concentrations of IgG and IgA were found in comparison to healthy control groups matched for age and sex. In schizophrenic patients the mean levels of IgG (1682.76 mg/dl) and IgA (321.12 mg/dl) were found to be significantly more as compared to those in the control group (IgG-1213.18 mg/dl and IgA - 210.14 mg/dl). Patients with paranoid schizophrenia had significantly high mean serum levels of IgG (1896.86 mg/dl) and IgA (376.16 mg/dl) in comparison to other subtypes of schizophrenia (i.e., catatonic, disorganized and undifferentiated). Mean serum concentrations of IgG and IgA in major affective disorder - mania (IgG 1526.36 mg/dl and IgA 382.16 mg/dl) and major depressive episode (IgG 2008.12 mg/dl and IgA 536.72 mg/dl) were found to be significantly higher as compared to those in the control group (IgG-920.21 mg/dl and IgA - 232.12 mg/dl).

Acute Disease

The participation of cartilage canals in the ossification of the human fetal calcaneum.

The relationship of cartilage canals to the developing ossification centres in the human calcaneum was investigated. The cartilage canals were always present in the calcaneum by 78 mm CR length. The calcaneum has two primary ossification centres. The main centre was identified in the deep part of the calcaneum as a spherical zone of cartilage cells in the proliferative phase between 82 and 120 mm CR length and in the hypertrophic phase between 130-156 mm. Numerous cartilage canals entered the calcaneum from its dorsal and ventral surfaces and, between 106 and 156 mm CR length, they formed vascular arcades around this centre. Between 165 and 175 mm, calcification and marrow space formation were noted involving branches from the adjoining cartilage canals within these areas, which provided vascular osteogenic tissue to the early spaces. The inconstant parachondral centre, when present, may appear first during the fourth month as a periosteal reaction on the inferolateral side in the anterior wall of a deep groove in front of the posterior tuberosity of the calcaneum. By 120 mm CR length, a thin layer of subperiosteal bone was present along with a zone of early hypertrophic cartilage cells deep to it. Calcification and marrow space formation occurred by 165 mm and these marrow spaces were supplied by periosteal buds. Osteoid tissue was formed in them between 186 and 206 mm CR length. The main centre was oval in shape due to its posterolateral extension irrespective of the presence or absence of the parachondral centre.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Calcaneus

Ascorbate and peroxidase changes during pregnancy in albino rat and Swiss mouse.

From the 1st to 6th days of pregnancy in the rat, while the blastocyst is still in the fallopian tube, there is high peroxidase activity in the corpus luteum, the blastocyst, and there is high peroxidase activity in the endometrium. On day 8 of pregnancy, peroxidase activity in the corpus luteum begins to fall rapidly, and there is a sharp rise in the peroxidase activity of the uterine endometrium. In all these tissues an inverse relationship exists between peroxidase and ascorbate content. We suggest the involvement of the peroxidase-ascorbate system in the mechanism of the extended function of the corpus luteum during pregnancy and a role for free radicals in the process of implantation of the blastocyst in the uterus.

Animals

Histochemical studies on the peroxidase localization in the rat ovary and uterus during various reproductive stages.

A histochemical study has been made of peroxidase changes in rat ovary and uterus during different developmental stages of the normal and pregnant rats. The peroxidase was found to be present in the corpus luteum of the ovary of both normal and pregnant rats as well as in the allantochorionic placenta, while the growing follicles in the immature and mature rat ovary showed no activity. The possible physiological significance of the peroxidase changes in relation to luteal steroidogenesis has been discussed.

Age Factors

Comparative histochemical study of the enzyme changes in the ovary and uterus of mammals with special references to steroidogenesis.

A comparative study of the enzymes delta5-3beta-HSD, cytochrome oxidase and peroxidase has been made in the ovaries and uterus of mammals (mouse, guinea pig, cat and dog) during various reproductive phases. The granulosa cells of developing follicles, hypertrophied interstitial cells of thecal origin and the luteal cells show intense delta5-3beta-HSD and cytochrome oxidase activity. Peroxidases are found to be present in the corpus luteum and the epithelial cords of thecal origin. delta5-3beta-HSD and cytochrome oxidase activity is localized to the endometrium and myometrium of mature and pregnant uterus of mouse and guinea pig, while peroxidase is seen only in the decidua and endometrial glands of pregnant animals. The significance of these enzymes is discussed in relation to the cellular basis of luteinization and steroid hormone synthesis.

Animals

Diazepam addiction: a case report.

A case of addiction to Diazepam is reported. Severe withdrawal symptoms such as tremulousness, irritability, increased psychomotor activity, generalized muscle cramps, photophobia, retro-orbital pains and insomnia are described. Visual hallucinations, illusions, and paranoid features are also present in this case. Detoxification and management were accomplished by gradual withdrawal and the addition of another tranquilizer, anticonvulsant and muscle relaxant. The author reviews other such reports of abuse and addiction in the literature which call for wide recognition of the addictive properties of Diazepam and for restrictions on its indiscriminate prescription by physicians.

Adult

Induction of peroxidase in corpora lutea of rat ovary by lutropin.

The lutropin-induced depletion of ascorbate in corpora lutea of albino-rat ovary is shown to be associated with the induction of peroxidase in corpora lutea. An inverse relationship between ascorbate depletion and peroxidase activity was established in a time-course study with lutropin. Analyses made at different phases of the reproductive cycle are in accord with this relationship. It is suggested that ascorbate, which is a well-established donor in peroxidase reactions, undergoes rapid oxidation in the presence of this enzyme, producing an intermediate free radical which, if coupled with pregnenolone, might produce progesterone in the corpora lutea. The exact role of peroxidase in steroidogenesis, however, remains to be elucidated and established.

Animals

Isolation and characterization of the plasma membrane of rat cauda epididymal spermatozoa.

Cauda epididymal rat spermatozoa were isolated by flushing the excised epididymis and the plasma membrane was detached by a nitrogen cavitation treatment (500 psi, 10 minutes equilibration at 4 C). Membrane vesicles were recovered after sucrose gradient centrifugation. Portions of the sperm surface releasing the plasma membrane were assessed by light microscopy of fluoroscein isothiocyanate-succinylated concanavalin A-treated spermatozoa and by transmission electron microscopy. Plasma membrane was detached from the region overlying the acrosome from most spermatozoa and from the middle-piece overlying the mitochondria from some cells. Thus, the fraction analyzed was derived from at least two portions of the sperm surface. The fractions from the sucrose density gradient were analyzed for gross chemical composition (phospholipid, protein and sterol) and the protein components were detected after electrophoresis under denaturing conditions; the peak fractions (at density approximately 1.13 g/ml) were judged homogeneous. Replicate analyses of such preparations established mass ratios of protein to phospholipid of 0.63, total sterol to phospholipid of 0.18, and demosterol to cholesterol of 0.32. The molecular composition of the phospholipid fraction was determined to be 10% phosphatidylserine (mole percent), 3% phosphatidylinosital, 3% sphingomyelin, 31% phosphatidylethanolamine, 27% phosphatidylcholine, 10% diphosphatidylglycerol and 5% of an unknown component. Fatty acyl analyses of the phospholipid fraction revealed that approximately 70% of the residues consisted of palmitoyl (16:0) and stearoyl (18:0) acyl groups, with the balance distributed among various unsaturated acyl groups (18:1, 22:3, 22:4 and 22:5); about 40% of the recovered phospholipids represented ether acyl phosphatides. Differences in the lipid composition of rat vesicles described here and similar vesicles isolated from ram and boar spermatozoa (described previously) are discussed. The partitioning of the nitroxyl spin label 3-doxylheptane into vesicles isolated from rat and ram spermatozoa was assessed by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy at temperatures between 4 C and 26 C; no difference in the response of the spin label in the two vesicle preparations was detected.

Animals

Abdominal epilepsy.

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Child

The involvement of surface sugars of mammalian spermatozoa in epididymal maturation and in vitro sperm-zona recognition.

The distribution of various simple sugar residues over the spermatozoa surfaces of five different mammalian species is characterized and compared. Epididymal maturation of the spermatozoa of all the five species studied exhibited an increase in the amount of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residues over their acrosomal domains. A complete blockade of sperm-zona pellucida attachment of hamster gametes could be brought about when spermatozoa were treated previously with 0.1 M of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine. This sugar seems to be specifically involved in sperm-zona pellucida attachment in hamsters. The inter-specific cross-reactivity of gametes of laboratory mammals like rat, mouse, rabbit and hamster could, quite likely, be because of the involvement of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine as a common factor in this reaction in these animals.

Acetylglucosamine